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  1. #1
    Currently MagSeven
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    Default Is "Image" dead?

    Besides Savage Dragon and Spawn, There are no original creator books (an asterisk to Spawn..). The OG creators did crossovers and played in each other's sandboxes for better or worse. Dragon would pop up in Spawn or Shadowhawk, They'd crossover with Youngblood...ect. For a bit Image had a shared universe. I think other than Spawn or Savage Dragon, none of the current books have any relation whatsoever to each other. Not a bad thing by any means. But I remember when Image firstW came out and I was but a wee lad, Image was a preferable alternative to Marvel and DC (it still is) but it sort of operated in a shared universe. ith the end of Invincible, it seems like there won't be too many more opportunities for shared continuity. I guess what I'm asking is that if anyone else will miss all the semi-shared universe books or at least the aspect of them. Once Image was mostly shared universe with a few outliers and now it's all unique projects with Dragon and Spawn being the exceptions (and Dragon is definitely in it's own universe when it wants to be).

    Either way, I love and support most of what Image currently publishes. Brilliant **** every month no matter what your interests are. Just want to see if anyone has a fondness for the "good old days".

  2. #2
    Astonishing Member Dark-Flux's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MagSeven View Post
    Besides Savage Dragon and Spawn, There are no original creator books (an asterisk to Spawn..). The OG creators did crossovers and played in each other's sandboxes for better or worse. Dragon would pop up in Spawn or Shadowhawk, They'd crossover with Youngblood...ect. For a bit Image had a shared universe. I think other than Spawn or Savage Dragon, none of the current books have any relation whatsoever to each other. Not a bad thing by any means. But I remember when Image firstW came out and I was but a wee lad, Image was a preferable alternative to Marvel and DC (it still is) but it sort of operated in a shared universe. ith the end of Invincible, it seems like there won't be too many more opportunities for shared continuity. I guess what I'm asking is that if anyone else will miss all the semi-shared universe books or at least the aspect of them. Once Image was mostly shared universe with a few outliers and now it's all unique projects with Dragon and Spawn being the exceptions (and Dragon is definitely in it's own universe when it wants to be).

    Either way, I love and support most of what Image currently publishes. Brilliant **** every month no matter what your interests are. Just want to see if anyone has a fondness for the "good old days".
    Cyber Force and Youngblood are also currently being published. As well as various other Artifact-verse books from Top Cow.

    But officially, the shared Image superhero universe ended way back in the 90s anyway with Shattered Image. After that its just basically been something which is only acknowledged if the individual creators want to make use of it - ie. Larsen and Kirkman on occasion.

    I really dont think this has had any meaninful impact on any of the books. Most of the crossovers were just fluff anyway. The more weighty stuff came from the individual imprints shared continuity imo. ie. Tow Cows Artifact books, Wildstorm shared universe, etc.

  3. #3
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    I like Image best when its NOT a shared universe, no crossover. Let the creators do their thing. We got enough shared universes and their problems with Marvel and DC...

    I say NO to the good old days. I like it how it is today.

  4. #4
    Wily Veteran cc008's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DanMad1977 View Post
    I like Image best when its NOT a shared universe, no crossover. Let the creators do their thing. We got enough shared universes and their problems with Marvel and DC...

    I say NO to the good old days. I like it how it is today.
    Me too. I love how the driving force behind Image is creator owned characters in creator owned stories. If one writer wants to pool some of their characters into a universe, go for it. But I love what Image is now.

  5. #5
    Astonishing Member FluffySheep's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DanMad1977 View Post
    I like Image best when its NOT a shared universe, no crossover. Let the creators do their thing. We got enough shared universes and their problems with Marvel and DC...

    I say NO to the good old days. I like it how it is today.
    I feel the same way. I much prefer my Image stories to be "linear" and not crossing over into other books.
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  6. #6
    Uncanny Member MajorHoy's Avatar
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    Some of those early Image comic books were really . . . bad.
    Great artwork, but the writing could often be somewhat dreadful.

  7. #7
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    I've loved when they did crossovers of a sort.

    REALLY LOVED the Invincible War with the Image heroes uniting to take down the evil doppelgangers of Invincible. or when Dynamo 5 had Supreme and Omniman teamup with Captain Dynamo in a flashback.

    The lack of a real shared universe has made it hard to like too many of the books though, but in fairness yeah Image isn't and doesn't really NEED a shared universe.

    Plus as a publisher they're clearly still very viable and a great place to get your book published.

  8. #8
    Spectacular Member Paulie Blade's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MajorHoy View Post
    Some of those early Image comic books were really . . . bad.
    Great artwork, but the writing could often be somewhat dreadful.
    Could you say which books you mean specifically? Just today I decided I would binge read old Wildcats, since I grew up reading those and loved them at the time. My current view, though, could be clouded by the nostalgia goggles.

  9. #9
    J.R. LeMar iblogalot's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dark-Flux View Post
    But officially, the shared Image superhero universe ended way back in the 90s anyway with Shattered Image.
    Anyone remember when they tried to bring it back in 2009 with IMAGE UNITED? The planned 6-issue miniseries, where they managed to get issues 1 and 2 done in two months, and then #3 came out eight months after #2, and that was a wrap?

    It was certainly an ambitious project, with Robert Kirkman writing a story featuring the main characters of 6 of the original Image founders, minus Jim Lee, but the plan to have each creator draw their own characters in each book was doomed to failure. They should have just got some other dependable artist to draw the whole series and maybe have each creator draw a cover, and some pin-ups.

    Personally, as someone who was there from the start, I do miss the shared Image Universe. I liked the little details like Rob Liefeld's character Chapel being the man who killed Todd McFarland's Al Simmons, which lead to Al becoming Spawn, and Youngblood showing up in the last issue of the original WildC.A.T.S. series, Savage Dragon being sent to New York to track down ShadowHawk, etc. At the time it genuinely felt like we were getting in on the ground floor of a the Next Marvel Comics.

    I still wish there was a sort of Central Image Universe like that, where creators could participate with their titles if they wanted to, while also publishing separate unconnected titles like Walking Dead and Astro City that were just their own thing.
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  10. #10

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    It would seem Image has indeed become a shadow of its former self as stated.

    Spawn and Savage Dragon are still around.

    Youngblood has been revived, but hardly the powerhouse it was in its heyday.

    Not sure about the others.
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  11. #11
    Spectacular Member Paulie Blade's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by iblogalot View Post
    Anyone remember when they tried to bring it back in 2009 with IMAGE UNITED? The planned 6-issue miniseries, where they managed to get issues 1 and 2 done in two months, and then #3 came out eight months after #2, and that was a wrap?

    It was certainly an ambitious project, with Robert Kirkman writing a story featuring the main characters of 6 of the original Image founders, minus Jim Lee, but the plan to have each creator draw their own characters in each book was doomed to failure. They should have just got some other dependable artist to draw the whole series and maybe have each creator draw a cover, and some pin-ups.

    Personally, as someone who was there from the start, I do miss the shared Image Universe. I liked the little details like Rob Liefeld's character Chapel being the man who killed Todd McFarland's Al Simmons, which lead to Al becoming Spawn, and Youngblood showing up in the last issue of the original WildC.A.T.S. series, Savage Dragon being sent to New York to track down ShadowHawk, etc. At the time it genuinely felt like we were getting in on the ground floor of a the Next Marvel Comics.

    I still wish there was a sort of Central Image Universe like that, where creators could participate with their titles if they wanted to, while also publishing separate unconnected titles like Walking Dead and Astro City that were just their own thing.
    On one hand I agree, it sounds tempting and I recall the Spawn/Chapel and WildC.A.T.s/Youngblood bits fondly, but it can cause problems regarding the creator-owned philosophy of Image. If, for instance, Grifter (of WildC.A.T.s) had been set as Al's killer (instead of Chapel), he would have never been able to mentioned again once Jim Lee left for DC and took his properties with him. That being said, I'm not sure if Chapel has ever been mentioned either ever since that single appearance. So, yeah, perhaps making single, minor visits to other books sounds like a safer idea compared to building an entire universe around creator-owned characters.

  12. #12
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    The stuff at Image today is not comparable to the older stuff anymore. Its so much better today. More thought is given into the storys and the characters. It has real substance and will stand the test of time. I cant say that for 90% of the older books. I tried to read some lately, but just coudlnt get through most of the first issues, except Spawn and Savage Dragon...

  13. #13
    Mighty Member Dr. Skeleton's Avatar
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    Yeah, I miss the old days too when it's superhero universe were the dominant force. Then some creators started leaving, especially Jim Lee and Wildstorm that left a large gaping hole. I also found out a few years ago that the Savage Dragon and supporting cast age normally which made it difficult for crossovers IMO for those creators who don't want their characters aging normally and eventually dying. The original Dragon has died for those who don't know. Spawn and characters have aged and died too now that Cyan is a grown woman. Ugh. I think Cyberforce now reside in an alternate universe now? Yeah, I did love it when they crossover and shared a universe to some extent. Not really fond of the Image titles outside of the superhero world with the exceptions of Walking Dead, Bitch Planet, etc. I'd love to see the Image superhero universe return in a big way at some point.

  14. #14
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    Far from it. The 'hype' is dying, but Image iMO publishes the best content.

  15. #15
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    I used to have mostly Marvel titles on my pull list and only a few Image titles but now the majority is Image with 1 Marvel title . Never read must of the older Image . But rather enjoying the current titles .

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